Unresolved Problems with the "I", the "A" and the "T": Logical and Psychometric Critique of the Implicit Association Test (IAT)

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) had already gained the status of a
prominent assessment procedure before its psychometric properties and
underlying task structure were understood. The present critique addresses
five major problems that arise when the IAT is used for diagnostic inferences:
(1) the asymmetry of causal and diagnostic inferences; (2) the viability of the
underlying association model; (3) the lack of a testable model underlying
IAT-based inferences; (4) the difficulties of interpreting difference scores; and
(5) the susceptibility of the IAT to deliberate faking and strategic processing.
Based on a theoretical reflection of these issues, and a comprehensive survey of
published IAT studies, it is concluded that a number of uncontrolled factors
can produce (or reduce) significant IAT scores independently of the
personality attribute that is supposed to be captured by the IAT procedure.